Ajou University - Graduate School of International Studies

Master in NGO Studies

The dramatic and rising importance of global civil society is undoubtedly underway throughout the world. Non-Governmental Organizaitons (NGOs) in the non-profit sector as a part of this exciting new development are working with, collaborating with and/or competing with governments as well as markets as interdependence and globalization begin to change our understanding of society and politics. In these transformative times NGOs are often regarded as being the driving force behind global changes in politics, economics, and social/cultural as well as ethical global issues. It is vital therefore to understand the connections, dynamics and relationships between state and non-state actors working in the contemporary global political era. NGOs, in their strategies and policy objectives, crucially, may even go beyond the domestic boundaries of sovereign states into the realm of global governance. NGOs therefore represent a practical strategic part of rethinking the site and nature of politics, power and authority in the 21st century. Reflecting upon the growing importance of NGOs and civil society, the NGO Studies major at AJOU GSIS seeks to develop an understanding of domestic as well as international networking processes by combining theory and practice in this field of study.

For this purpose, the NGO Studies major provides prospective students with broad categories of subjects ranging from managerial skills for NGOs to NGO strategic cooperation wth international organizations. Along with two required courses (NGO Introduction and Research Methods), the NGO major offers four broad categories of classes related to current NGO activities. They are; first, NGO and Civil Society, related subjects including Social Movements and Civic Education; second, NGO and Global Governance, related subjects including International Cooperation and International Organizations; third, NGO and Policy, related subjects including Public Policy and Policy Planning; and fourth, NGO and Management, related subjects including Human Resource Management, Social Marketing, and Financing.

Required courses

Option A
Qualitative Research Design and Methods

This course is designed for students who are beginning their dissertation projects. The aim of the course is to give students the tools to conceptualize their theses in terms of research questions and design, methodology, data collection, and qualitative analysis. In doing so, this course focuses more narrowly on the issues, problems, and strategies related to "small-N" qualitative research, for the most part setting aside the techniques of large-N statistical analysis, which is presumed best to be taught in a separate course. Students will read and discuss texts related to theory formation and hypothesis testing; creating variables and measurement; descriptive and causal inference; longitudinal, comparative case study research; field data collection; working with texts and analyzing qualitative data; and, finally, dissertation write-up. This course is divided into four main parts focusing on the following topics: (1) the goals of social science and elements of research design; (2) selecting and application of different methodologies for conducting research; (3) collection of primary and secondary data on the field; and (4) analysis and synthesis of qualitative data in the dissertation-writing process.

Option B
Quantitative Research Design and Methods

This Course deals with the general logic of scientific inquiry, research design, sampling, measurement, statistical inference, causal analyses, rational choice theory, and game theory. By the end of this course, you should be able to conceptualize a research problem and develop a number of complementary design, measurement, and date collection approaches to bring evidence to bear on the problem. In this course you will also learn to apply economic reasoning and game theory to interactive situations, that is, to situations in which (1) people have conflicting goals and (2) are affected in important ways by each other's actions. We will use game theory to understand when and how the incentives of individuals can work against the interests of the group, and how this kind of problem can be overcome.

NGO Introduction

First, in this course, students will learn the concept and historical lineages of NGOs. Second, situating NGOs in globalizing world, we will look over many aspects of NGOs like Global Governance & NGOs, Global Civil Society & NGOs, and Global Environmental Crisis & NGOs, etc. Third, focusing on contemporary South Korea, we will deal with many activities initiated by Korean NGOs. Finally, each student will choose particular NGO, delve into the activities of that NGO, and make presentation on that topic in the last phase of this semester.